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NTIA Seeks Public Input on Advantages, Challenges of ‘Internet of Things’ Adoption
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NTIA Seeks Public Input on Advantages, Challenges of ‘Internet of Things’ Adoption


mobile device managementThe National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a request for comments to identify the potential advantages and challenges of implementing Internet-connected devices.

NTIA said Tuesday the Commerce Department will use gathered input to create a green paper about Internet of Things as part of DOC’s Digital Economy Agenda as well as explore strategies on how agencies and companies can collaborate to spur adoption of the technology.

“This effort is aimed at ensuring the continued growth and innovation of IoT for the benefit of consumers, society and the economy,” said Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary for communications and information at DOC and administrator of NTIA.

Responses to the agency’s request for comments are due May 23.

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Energy Department Reaches Alternative Energy Deal with Kazakhstan
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Energy Department Reaches Alternative Energy Deal with Kazakhstan


energy-meterThe Energy Department and the government of Kazakhstan have inked a new agreement for the use of an alternative energy source in the latter country in an effort to help reduce emissions and build up nuclear safety.

DOE said Wednesday the Kazakhstan – United States Energy Partnership Commission held a follow-up meeting at the Energy Ministry of the Republic of Kazakhstan to discuss the 2016 work flow and sign the deal.

The two organizations held the meeting following the 11th session of the Commission held in 2015, where the Special Commission on the Energy Partnership tackled nuclear security and nuclear energy, alternative energy and electricity, energy conservation and energy efficiency.

The partnership already achieved cooperation in efforts to convert Kazakhstan’s research reactors and implement physical nuclear security.

FTC, Partner Agencies Develop Web-Based Guidance Tool for Mobile Health App Developers
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FTC, Partner Agencies Develop Web-Based Guidance Tool for Mobile Health App Developers


health infosecThe Federal Trade Commission has launched a new web-based guidance tool for health-related mobile application developers.

FTC’s guidance tool works to inform developers on the laws and regulations that apply to their mobile apps by providing a series of questions on the app functions, collected data and services provided, the agency said Tuesday.

“Mobile app developers need clear information about the laws that apply to their health-related products,” said Jessica Rich, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director.

“By working with our partner agencies, we’re helping these businesses build apps that comply with the law and provide more protection for consumers.”

FTC worked with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop the guidance tool.

Bakul Patel, associate director for digital health at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, added that the joint effort also seeks to drive patient safety and digital health innovation.

The tool is available via FTC’s website.

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NASA Science Mission Directorate Assoc. Administrator John Grunsfeld to Retire in April
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NASA Science Mission Directorate Assoc. Administrator John Grunsfeld to Retire in April


$headshot John-Grunsfeld
John Grunsfeld

John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA‘s science mission directorate, will retire from his post by the end of April.

The four-decade space agency veteran has managed over 100 space missions, including the Curiosity Mars rover landing, New Horizons Pluto flyby and the Deep Space Climate Observatory, Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 and Global Precipitation Measurement programs, NASA said Wednesday.

He was also the lead spacewalker in the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in 2009 and is a five-time space shuttle astronaut and an inductee into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

“Widely known as the ‘Hubble Repairman,’ it was an honor to serve with him in the astronaut corps and watch him lead NASA’s science portfolio during a time of remarkable discovery,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

The space agency added that the Geoff Yoder, the science mission directorate’s deputy administrator, will serve as interim associate administrator until a new successor is named.

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Army Develops Program to Create 3D Full-Anatomy Soldier Avatars
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Army Develops Program to Create 3D Full-Anatomy Soldier Avatars


army stock photoThe U.S. Army‘s Research Institute of Environmental Medicine continues to develop a computer program that could create three-dimensional, full-anatomy avatars of individual soldiers regardless of gender and body shape and size.

Gary Zientara and Reed Hoyt of USARIEM began research for the project in 2010 for potential applications in military medicine and equipment design, the Army said Monday.

“This strategy has the possibility to create a large library of avatars — indeed, an online avatar ‘Army’ available for research use and, as importantly, can provide individualized avatars representing uniquely specialized members of special units,” Zientara said.

The computer program has so far created 250 avatars out of 500 3D body scans collected by the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center’s anthropometry team as part of the first generation effort in 2015, the service branch said.

Zientara noted the NSRDEC provides the 3D body surface scanning technology, which works to generate output that the USARIEM software uses to study body positioning by identifying external appendages, surface anatomical landmarks and skeleton.

The technology aims to optimize safety in high-risk simulations as well as lower costs of physical testing through possible applications in simulation and testing software, the service branch said.

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Ashton Carter Outlines Proposed Changes to 1986 Defense Reorganization Law
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Ashton Carter Outlines Proposed Changes to 1986 Defense Reorganization Law


Ashton Carter
Ashton Carter

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said one of his proposed changes to the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 is to clarify the role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, DoD News reported Tuesday.

He said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event that the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman should stay outside the chain of command and be responsible to provide the Defense Department’s civilian leaders with objective advice on risk and force allocation.

Lisa Ferdinando writes Carter noted that he aims to eliminate redundancies through the integration of intelligence and logistics functions across combatant commands, Joint Staff and subordinate commands as well as expand the definition of joint duty assignment to include sustainment, fires, intelligence and other operational functions.

Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould also reported for Defense News that Carter also wants service branch chiefs to have more authority in the acquisition process as part of his proposed updates to the defense reorganization law.

He told CSIS audience that he plans to reduce the required time for joint duty assignments from three years to two years and would consider changes to the U.S. Cyber Command’s role in the Unified Command Plan.

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AF Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold Nominated to CAPE Principal Deputy Director Post
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AF Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold Nominated to CAPE Principal Deputy Director Post


$headshot Bradley-Heithold
Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, has been nominated to the role of principal deputy director in the Defense Department’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office..

Obama also endorsed Heithold for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday.

CAPE works to manage the Defense Department‘s programming process, including development and production of planning guidance and the annual program review, which produces the Future Years Defense Program.

Heithold leads approximately 19,000 uniformed and civilian personnel in his current role and has served as vice commander of the United States Special Operations Command prior to that.

He is also a former commander of of the 451st Air Expeditionary Group in Southwest Asia and the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency.

FAS: DOE Seeks 4% Funding Boost for Fiscal 2017 Nuclear Weapons Activities
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FAS: DOE Seeks 4% Funding Boost for Fiscal 2017 Nuclear Weapons Activities


Nuclear powerplantA Congressional Research Service report says the Energy Department‘s fiscal 2017 budget request includes $12.9 billion to fund operations of DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Steven Aftergood writes in a blog article published Monday the CRS report obtained by FAS shows that approximately $9.2 billion of the proposed NNSA budget for 2017 would go to the agency’s weapons activities account, a nearly 4.4 increase from the amount allocated in the current fiscal year.

According to CRS, NNSA uses its weapons activities account to manage and sustain U.S. nuclear missile warheads, gravity bombs and related infrastructure.

The account is also meant to help the agency conduct research, development, test and evaluation work on the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile as well as build or modernize agency-run facilities, the report noted.

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Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph Lengyel Nominated to Lead National Guard Bureau
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Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph Lengyel Nominated to Lead National Guard Bureau


Joseph Lengyel
Joseph Lengyel

Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph Lengyel, vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to lead the bureau in Washington.

Obama also endorsed the 35-year Air Force veteran for promotion to the rank of general, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in a Defense Department news release published Tuesday.

Lengyel previously served as chief of the office of military cooperation, senior defense official and defense attache for the U.S. Central Command in Cairo, Egypt.

He has logged at least 3,000 flight hours as a command pilot for the F-16 fighter jet as well as T-37 and T-38 planes.

He started his career in the service branch as an F-16 instructor pilot and weapons officer.

Lengyel is a former commander of the Air National Guard Readiness Center, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group and the 182nd Fighter Squadron.

He has been deployed to international assignments in South Korea, Germany and Afghanistan.

He is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Joint Service Achievement Medal, among other awards.

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Paige Hinkle-Bowles: DoD Rolls Out Civilian Employee Appraisal Program
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Paige Hinkle-Bowles: DoD Rolls Out Civilian Employee Appraisal Program

OfficePaige Hinkle-Bowles, deputy assistant secretary for civilian personnel policy at the Defense Department, has said DoD has begun to implement an enterprisewide appraisal program for civilian staff performance through its New Beginnings initiative, DoD News reported Tuesday.

Hinkle-Bowles told DoD News reporter Jim Garamone in an interview that DoD will start the transition of its 14,500 civilian employees into the Defense Performance Management and Appraisal Program in April.

She noted that the Pentagon plans to achieve full implementation of the program by October 2018 and cover the department’s more than 600,000 General Schedule and Wage Grade employees by that time.

DoD will use “outstanding,” “fully successful” and “unacceptable” as the three rating levels for the program and link performance-based actions and bonuses to the employees’ performance, she told the publication.

Hinkle-Bowles added that the department will require supervisors to document at least three feedback sessions with each employee throughout the annual rating cycle as part of the program.

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